Real Techniques duo-fibre brush set review

I’ve been really impressed with the Real techniques brushes I have. I own The “starter set” which is a selection of eye brushes, the shading brush, the expert face brush, the setting brush, and stippling brush. I’ve always looked at the core collection because I’ve always wanted the contour brush and the buffing brush, but I’ve always been put off because I know I wouldn’t really make use of the other two brushes that come in the set. I also was looking for a powder brush that wouldn’t cake on the powder because I had used my ELF stippling brush (which was also duo-fibre) for powder, but then I ruined the brush (a story for another time). So when this set came out they were basically everything I wanted even if they did cost a little more than the “core” collection.

This set includes a face brush, a contour brush, and a eye brush, which are all duo-fibre. The idea behind the duo-fibre brushes is that the different layers and lengths of bristles are meant to give you a lighter application thus making your make-up look more natural, and air-brushed. It also means that you don’t have to fear applying too much, and can instead build up the colour to your desired intensity.

As you can see from the picture on the left the black bristles are shorter and more dense towards the base of the brush, whereas the white bristles are longer and far more sparse.

So on to my thoughts on each of the brushes separately.

Face Brush: As I said above I’d really been wanting a duo-fibre powder brush, so that’s what I use it for powder. I use the Rimmel stay matte powder to set my make up into place, and whilst it’s a great powder for that sometimes a heavy handed application of it can lead to looking cakey, so this brush is great for applying powder without looking overdone.

Contour Brush: I’ve always wanted a dedicated contour brush just because I have a round face, and I really love the way contouring makes it look slimmer and more structured. I love using this brush to place the contour into the hollows of my non-existent cheekbones. The lighter application this brush gives means that you can’t apply too much, and it also really blends really well, so you don’t end up with an obvious line along the side of your face. I also pinch the brush a little at the base, and the run it along the sides of my nose to make it look slimmer. I’ve also been applying blush with this brush, and it’s great for that too, because I’m not a fan obvious blush application (I have naturally pink cheeks like Noddy), so the lighter application suits me well.

Eye Brush: This brush is just great in the crease/socket of your eyes, and it just does the work for you! I wouldn’t use it for packing on colour, but maybe if you wanted a sheer wash of colour it would be good. I’d also use it a a clean blending brush, to do secondary blending, if I was doing a dramatic look, and wanted the edges to fade out gradually, and look air-brushed.

Dirty well loved brushes. I like how the writing coincides with the other sets I feel like it ties it all together.
The eye brush has purple writing to go with the starter set brushes for eyes, which are purple. Orange writing – relates to the core set for base make up.
Pink writing matches the blush brush, stippling brush, and setting brush, which have pink handles.

All in all I think this is a really good set of quality brushes, and I’ve been making good use out of them because I don’t have anything like them in my collection.

The question of if I would have bought them if I had the core set that real techniques offers, and a duo-fibre brush for powder which I hadn’t ruined….the answer would probably be no. These really fill a gap in my brush collection, and I’m not interested in getting the core collection anymore, especially because I prefer the application of the duo-fibre brushes. I think if you already have brushes in your collection that do the jobs that these do (and you’re happy), then you don’t really need these. Niether, would these be the first set of brushes I buy if I was just building my collection. However, if you don’t have brushes in your collection that do the functions of these brushes (like I didn’t), or if your looking for something to expand and compliment your brush collection, then yes go purchase them, (and quickly because they’re limited edition). They are available at Boots for £23.99.

I hope you enjoyed my review. Tell me if you’re a fan of Real techniques, and whats your favourite brush? Also, do you have these, or want them?

P.S – This is the last pre-prepared post normal blogging will resume this week.

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